Core i7 920 vs Xeon 5650 (single chip)

[BorisZett]

I have a mother board (P6T7 Supercomputer) and complete system paid for and and ready to build. I have two processors on hand that are both compatible with my build:

Core i7 920 (Quad Core)
Xeon 5650 (Six Core)

I know the Xeon is not a "budget" buy... but all prices aside in my situation what processor should I install? Will the Xeon outperform the i7 in every way due to having more cores? It seems like an easy 'yes' but just wanted to make sure. I know most programs will not take advantage of the six cores. Will the i7 give and benefit that the Xeon couldn't give?

I use my computer primarily for gaming. The newest and most graphic intense games to be specific. I have two 22" monitors hooked up to my computer but only use one monitor to display games on.

Thank you for any responses! I just want to make sure I am making the right decision to go with the Xeon over the i7.

[Steve R Jones]

Tom's Hardware: Hardware News, Tests and Reviews has charts and graphs etc comparring preformance in all sorts of different situation. Should check it out.

[BorisZett]

Tom's Hardware: Hardware News, Tests and Reviews has charts and graphs etc comparring preformance in all sorts of different situation. Should check it out.

I went to this website, as you said, and don't really know what I am looking for. I am not familiar with Tom's Hardware. Could you maybe link me to a chart that would give me the info I am looking for?

In addition, I am looking for maybe some more specific differences between the chips not just necessarily clock speeds and frames per second achieved.

[Steve R Jones]

Without looking – I’d bet that both chips far exceed the minimum specs for most games. And if that’s the case – you probably couldn’t tell any difference between the two.

If you were building a server to host a few hundred players – the Xeon would probably be the better chip.

Which video card will you be using?

[BorisZett]

Without looking – I’d bet that both chips far exceed the minimum specs for most games. And if that’s the case – you probably couldn’t tell any difference between the two.

If you were building a server to host a few hundred players – the Xeon would probably be the better chip.

Which video card will you be using?

Thanks! I will be using the Geforce GTX 570 HD.

As for minimum specs, I dont really plan on play on low settings. I am planning on playing on as high of settings as my GPU will allow.

[Steve R Jones]

Here's one of the charts I mentioned... It doesn't list any Xeons like I thought I had seen before... But you can see where the i7 920 rates.

Charts, benchmarks Desktop CPU Charts 2010, 3DMark Vantage Overall Performance

[BorisZett]

Here's one of the charts I mentioned... It doesn't list any Xeons like I thought I had seen before... But you can see where the i7 920 rates.

Charts, benchmarks Desktop CPU Charts 2010, 3DMark Vantage Overall Performance

Thanks Steve! I would like to see a chart that compares the xeon to the 920 in a high end game stress test.

I was also just fishing to see if anyone new of any design flaw of the Xeon that would render it less capable as a gaming processor than the 920. I plan on putting my system together tomorrow and the processor I do not use I am sending to someone. I dont want to make a bad choice and get stuck with the lesser of the two processors.

At face value I would say the Xeon wins hands down. But in actual performance while playing games I have no idea. I've read various articles that state that the Xeon is the same chip as an i7 and yet others that state that it is a "server" chip. What exactly does being a "server" chip mean for gaming?

[RicheemxX]

To be totally honest in most games I doubt you'd see much difference. You have to keep in mind most games still aren't optimized for multicore support and the newer ones that are would still likely benefit more from a faster clock speed than they would the additional cores.

For overall face value - band for the buck - you'd be much better off spending the cash on the i7 920 or even something new and using the left over cash in other areas.

[BorisZett]

To be totally honest in most games I doubt you'd see much difference. You have to keep in mind most games still aren't optimized for multicore support and the newer ones that are would still likely benefit more from a faster clock speed than they would the additional cores.

For overall face value - band for the buck - you'd be much better off spending the cash on the i7 920 or even something new and using the left over cash in other areas.

Thank you for your input!

If I was purchasing a processor I would definitely follow your advice.

However, I already have both processors in my hands. My question is which to install in the mother board. They are both the same clock speed. From the lack of responses againts using Xeon for gaming I am thinking that Xeon's have no drawbacks when used in this fasion. Any rebuttal?

[RicheemxX]

I had just noticed you mentioned already having both. I've never seen any actual gaming benchmarks so its really hard to say. I don't know of anything in particular that would cause the chip to not perform at least as well as the 920. But someone else might know a little something I don't.

Have you made sure your motherboard supports the chip? I know most 1366 boards supported the older Xeons, but noticed a few sites mentioned the need for a bios update for these guys.

TBH if it were me I'd ship off the i7 920 (if you have to choose one over the other) keeping the Xeon to sale off. Then use the extra cash for other parts and call it good. But